100-year-old Pierz Journal brings smiles to its readers

Betty Boser of Pierz has in her possession a Pierz Journal which turns 100 years old June 26.

“It was given to me about 12 years ago when my neighbor Evelyn Nagel was moving,” said Boser. “I was helping her pack for her move and noticed the paper. When I read about my grandfather, Wendelin Voigt, doing a reading, Evelyn said I should have it.”

Betty Boser of Pierz has a copy of the June 26, 1913, Pierz Journal. It was a gift from a neighbor that she continues to treasure.

The Journal is far different from the papers of today. The headlines, and there were several, spoke of the Farmer’s Creamery getting out of debt, three cows killed by lightning at the John Philippi farm and the Little Falls Northwestern Milling Company breaking down.

The paper’s headlines also included John Rauch winning the third prize in the State Dairy Contest for four months in a row, that the increased consumption of ice cream and fruit in Pierz was a factor in current cost of living increases and that John Kippley and J.J. Brummer built new chicken coops with cement floors.

A bit of advertising came from Bill Arndt and George Kiewel when they introduced “White Rose” beer to Pierz.

“One thing I noticed was that there were only two phone numbers listed in the advertising,” said Boser. “They were 11=4 for Preimesberger’s Baggage and Dray Line and 20=3 for the City Dray Line. No other ads included phone numbers.”

Some of the other advertisers were Golden Rule Furniture and Undertaking, P.A. Hartmann’s, both the Columbia and Pierz hotels, the German State Bank and two barber shops. There were many more.

The Faust Opera House in Pierz also advertised its movies shown every Sunday. The movies were a string of photos and the length of the show was measured in feet. Sometimes the movies were 2,000 feet long, sometimes 3,000 feet long. On special Sundays, two shows would be combined and they would be about 5,000 feet long. The admission fee would be 10 cents or 15 cents, possibly depending on the seating.

“I’m not sure what I will do with the paper in the future,” said Boser. For now, she said she will continue to enjoy it.